HOYER: REPUBLICANS USE FSC/ETI TAX BILL TO DO FAR MORE HARM THAN GOOD

For Immediate Release:

October 7, 2004

Contact:Rep. Steny Hoyer202-225-3130

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer spoke on the House floor today in opposition to the flawed and fiscally irresponsible Republican FSC/ETI Conference Report. Instead of aiding American manufacturers and protecting American jobs, the bill is loaded down with billions of dollars for special interests and tax loopholes. The following is Rep. Hoyer’s statement as prepared for delivery:

“Mr. Speaker, like most of my colleagues, I agree that we must address the underlying problems with our international tax rules, but I must voice my opposition to this Conference Report, a product that has not improved with age. In fact, as this has been drawn out over time, it gets further and further away from the problem it was supposed to address.

“There are more narrowly-crafted tax breaks in the Conference Report than when it left the House in June. And today we learned that tax credits for the movie industry were dropped from the conference report because the Motion Picture Association of America had the audacity to hire a Democrat to head the group.

“There are fewer incentives to keep jobs in this country and just as many incentives that will continue to move jobs overseas. On whole, the balance of this measure has absolutely nothing to do with fixing international tax rules, and were it not for some extraneous provisions that are vital in several states, I doubt we would be debating this conference report now, because it would have never passed the House in the first place.

“So once again, after a decade of rhetoric on tax reform and increased calls by leaders on the other side of the aisle for action on tax simplification, a product has been brought before this House that only serves to complicate and carve up the tax code even more. U.S. Treasury Secretary Snow agrees, indicating earlier this week that its content ‘went far beyond the bill's core objective,’ which was to resolve a $4 billion trade dispute with the European Union.

“At a time of record job loss, especially in the manufacturing sector, Republican leaders rejected a bipartisan solution that could have passed well over a year ago, at far less cost to the country, and without the delaying tactics that allowed 12 percent tariffs on our exports.

To date, businesses across this country have been harmed to the tune of nearly $187 million to date. After having ignored fiscal discipline this entire session of Congress, the majority has miraculously rediscovered the principal of revenue-neutrality, but are using gimmicks, phase-outs and controversial revenue raisers that punish working families, small businesses taxpayers and charitable organizations, to do so.

“True, hidden among the largess are a few deserving provisions, but no one should be fooled into thinking that this bill, on the whole, is good tax or trade policy, or good tax practice, and most assuredly not good for the American taxpayer."